Project LOKI ②

Chapter 21: The Pandora's Box (Part 2)

I took the laptop from him and opened it. A window prompted me to input the password. "So paano ko mabubuksan 'to? What's the password?"

He walked back to the couch and crossed his legs. "There won't be any fun if I tell you right away. Why don't you try deducing it?"

Wala akong nagawa kundi ilang segundo siyang titigan. He must be joking. How could I possibly deduce his password if there were an infinite number of possible combinations?

"My laptop has a nine-digit code," he revealed. "When decrypted, those numbers will reveal the word DETECTIVE. Sounds easy, right?"

Easy? Saang part ang easy roon? Ilang beses akong napakurap at pilit na in-absorb ang mga pinagsasabi niya. "So you encrypted the word DETECTIVE into a numerical code and set it as your password?"

"Those who aren't aware of my methods will have a hard time figuring it out. I've already expected that the club will be in danger of being dissolved one day, so I've prepared a dossier that will turn the tables in our favor. And that day has finally come! The salvation of our club is now in your hands."

Wow. Thanks for giving me that task. "Any clue that might help me?"

"Try Mary Had a Little Lamb."

Though I did not understand why he mentioned that children's song, I took his laptop with me and left the apartment. Napakabigat ng responsibilidad na ibinigay niya sa akin. If it was true that this laptop could save the club, bakit kinailangan pa niyang i-withhold ang password at pahirapan ako? Some problems had simple solutions, but Loki always wanted to pursue complex methods to arrive at the answers.

I SPENT the whole morning scribbling the possible combination for the password. The simple substitution, the use of base eight—I tried all codes we had encountered so far. My effort yielded some results, however, I did not know how the clue was connected to the numbers.

By lunchtime, I went to our clubroom and reviewed my notes. The first number combination was based on a simple substitution. Letter A is 1, letter B is 2, letter C is 3, and so on. For letters substituted by two-digit numbers, I combined them para maging isang digit sila. Following that logic, for example, the letter M which was substituted by the number 13 would become 4.

4 5 (2) 5 3 (2) 9 (4) 5

"The password is incorrect. Two attempts left."

W-What?! Meron palang limit kung ilang incorrect password ang puwedeng ilagay! Loki should have told me earlier that I was only given three tries. What would happen if all my inputs were incorrect? Would this laptop self-destruct or would the files inside be deleted?

Looking at the next set of passwords—which were quite many—I could no longer pick a random combination and enter them in the field. I was thinking over the clue that Loki gave me. How could a children's song help me encrypt the word DETECTIVE? Could the encryption key be a date? When was that song composed again? No, it might not be a date shift cipher.

Inilabas ko ang aking phone at inilagay sa keypad screen nito. Kinailangan ko nang humingi ng dagdag na clue mula sa lalaking 'yon para ma-unlock ko na ang laptop niya. I hope that he will give me something helpful. I was typing his number when a thought crossed my mind. Aside from being a children's song, Mary Had a Little Lamb was also the tune of Moriarty's number when dialed. Each number key had a corresponding note.

If memory served me right, his number was 0921-654-5666. Sinubukan ko siyang i-dial at pinakinggan ang tune.

Bip! Bop! Bip! Bip! Bip! Bip! Bop! Bip! Bip! Bip! Bop!